The present invention relates to printed wiring board files, and more particularly to printed wiring board files of wire construction adapted to receive runners attached to printed wiring boards, the runners sliding on tracks affixed to the card file to position the printed wiring boards within the file.
Printed wiring board files mounting printed wiring boards and sometimes known as card files are well known to those skilled in the art. One type employs a metallic board file mounting printed wiring boards vertically. The file includes an upper surface, lower surface, two side surfaces, and a plurality of connectors mounted vertically across the back of the file. Upper guides and lower guides are formed in the upper and lower surfaces, respectively. Each upper guide is formed by making two U-shaped cuts in the upper surface. Each cut has an elongated base and two short legs perpendicular to the base. The bases are parallel and opposite each other and the legs of each cut extend toward the legs of the other cut. Once cut, the portion of the surface internal to each U-shaped cut is then bent downward perpendicular to the upper surface along a line extending between the ends of each such cut to form a board guide of U-shaped cross-section. Guides are formed in the lower surface in a similar manner.
Another type of printed wiring board file is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,760, issued Feb. 13, 1973, to Ansano Bertelloti, et al., and teaches a printed wiring board file including a front support formed of a rectangular tubular member having a slotted steel card guide on its top and bottom surfaces and a rear support formed of a circular tubular member having a slotted card guide at the top and bottom. The front card guide slots are so shaped as to align a wiring board horizontally with the rear card guide slots while the rear support member serves to vertically align the wiring board during insertion of the board into an associated connector. The tubular members are supported and positioned relative to the connector by a pair of end bracket stampings engaging the tubular members, which stampings are affixed to an upright support member mounting the connectors.
The above card file arrangements, while operating generally satisfactorily, require the costly cutting, stamping and forming of sheet metal for their manufacture. Additionally, the use of sheet metal upper and lower surfaces includes the added disadvantage of restricting cooling of the printed wiring boards.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a new and improved arrangement for mounting printed wiring boards.